Affiliate Disclosure
If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Read our ethics policy.

Epic CEO decries Apple's App Store 'propaganda' after 10 months of his own

Epic Games' CEO doesn't believe corporate propaganda is the answer

Tim Sweeney, the man behind the "Fortnite" 1984 ad campaign against Apple, claims that corporate propaganda shouldn't be the response to big tech issues.

The Epic Games versus Apple trial may have adjourned, but Tim Sweeney is still complaining about Apple's business practices on Twitter. While a verdict and action plan from the judge is still pending, "Fortnite" continues its existence off of Apple's platforms.

A tweet from Epic CEO Tim Sweeney suggests that corporate propaganda campaigns shouldn't be the solution to a problem, that companies should "just fix it and bear the costs." The statement from Sweeney comes after Apple's pamphlet on privacy and sideloading was released on Wednesday.

The hypocrisy of the statement appears to be lost on Sweeney, who's company ran an expensive, multi-week campaign against Apple before the trial. After breaking Apple's App Store guidelines on purpose, the company sued Apple and released a propaganda video mimicking Apple's "1984" ad that launched the Mac.

After the ad released, "Fortnite" had in-game content advertising the legal opposition against Apple. The entire campaign was run via the hashtag #FreeFortnite to convince players to speak out against Apple's business practices.

"Fortnite" was removed from Apple's platforms, and despite being able to return to the App Store at any time, Tim Sweeney refused to "just fix it and bear the costs." The popular game still isn't available on Apple's platforms which previously earned Apple as much as $100 million.

Keep up with everything Apple in the weekly AppleInsider Podcast — and get a fast news update from AppleInsider Daily. Just say, "Hey, Siri," to your HomePod mini and ask for these podcasts, and our latest HomeKit Insider episode too.

If you want an ad-free main AppleInsider Podcast experience, you can support the AppleInsider podcast by subscribing for $5 per month through Apple's Podcasts app, or via Patreon if you prefer any other podcast player.



29 Comments

bakerzdosen 16 Years · 185 comments

He's either clueless or brilliant.
Sort of reminds me of an old Cosby line:
"Fathers are the geniuses of the house because only a person as intelligent as we could fake such stupidity." -Bill Cosby

sflocal 16 Years · 6138 comments

It's funny reading the twitter comments calling out Sweeney's hypocrisy, and Sweeney trying to save face.  Asshole.

omasou 7 Years · 643 comments

Epic please fire this idiot. So tired of his onside whining and appeal for public support.

Rayz2016 8 Years · 6957 comments

Man needs to have a serious word with himself. 

crowley 15 Years · 10431 comments

omasou said:
Epic please fire this idiot. So tired of his onside whining and appeal for public support.

He owns 30% of the company, he isn't going anywhere.